MSC Preziosa Review
Beautiful ship decor and waiter and cabin service.. Shame about the rest
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose MSC because it looks luxurious inside and we wanted to try something different. We've been on 10+ cruises from one week to 5 weeks each. Unfortunately, this cruise is geared for the German and European markets
Staff at customer services weren't up to date with what was going on on the ship. I find there are certain nationalities who are excellent at customer services. It comes to them naturally and other nationalities need more training. They feel they are above the customer because they are wearing a uniform and whatever they say is final. Went to book an excursion for 6 of us and was told it had been fully booked since before we sailed! So why not take names and add on another coach? Those staff members need more training. They simply shrug their shoulders when they don't know something. There's machines on that floor to register your card to pay for expenses incurred for your cabin. Credit cards are not a problem as all charges automatically go on your card when you leave. Debit cards and cash however they charge an amount immediately and if there's money to be refunded you have to go to customer services and you're refunded in the ship's currency which is euros so beware if you put down cash in sterling.
Tours were very expensive compared to other cruiseliners. In the ports shuttle buses were provided but you had to pay! From€6.90 to€15.60 return per person! So if you can't walk a mile you're stuck onboard in some ports. We got the hop on hop off in several cities to get our bearings and then got off and mooched.
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom
We had 3 balcony cabins so they opened up the balcony position so we could be together. The decor in the rooms was rich and bright. No drab colours here. It looks and feels expensive as does all the decor on this ship. For a 2 week cruise there was just enough room in the wardrobe. Safe was the usual. Bathroom as usual, poor water pressure unless you have a shower at 6am or 11 pm. Variable height shower hose and pressure nozzle. Round plexiglass doors and no rust or mildew anywhere! Cupboards to hide away toiletries and shelves.
Desk as per usual with solid square stool instead of chair which is better as it takes up less room and you can put your feet on when sitting on the sofa.
Cabin size average for balcony cabin but 3 seater sofa. The mattress harder than other cruiseliners.
TV on the small side with remote control. 5 channels in German, 4 channels in Italian, one channel only for English, BBC world news. They advertise films which anyone with Netflix or sky has already seen and want to charge€7.50 to watch! So don't advertise TV to English speaking passengers! Certainly no children's entertainment there.
Kettle and Yorkshire tea and coffee was a welcome plus. 2 sockets American flag pin and 2 sockets European round pin on desk panel.
Balcony is definitely smaller than other ships. You cannot put the stool in front of the chair to look straight out to sea. The ship's design is wider at base then narrower hence the narrower balconies. If you look over the railing you look into the promenade deck and the life boats hang over the edge of the promenade so you can't see straight down to the water from the balcony railing.